An Overview: Greening the Blue

Annual Reports

Greening the Blue report 2017

In this year's report, 67 UN entities report their greenhouse gas emissions for 2016. Of which, 56 provided data on waste and 39 were climate neutral. In addition to detailing the UN's environmental impacts in 2016, the Greening the Blue report also showcases a number of UN entities that are making an effort to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve overall environmental performance.

Greening the Blue report 2016

In this year’s report a total of 66 UN entities reported their greenhouse gas emissions for 2015, with 42 providing waste management data as well. The brochure and infographic poster highlight some of the key facts and figures as well as explaining the methods used by UN entities to measure and reduce their environmental impacts, demonstrating how far the UN has come in ‘greening the blue’.

On the eve of the COP21 meeting in Paris, the latest report on the UN system-wide greenhouse gas inventory process was published. The 2015 edition includes the emissions for UN organisations in 2014, as well as a breakdown of emissions by source and a list of organizations that have achieved climate neutrality. The brochure and poster highlight some of the many projects going on in UN agencies and offices around the UN to improve the organization's environmental performance.

The UN's report on System-wide progress in implementing the UN's Climate Neutral Strategy. This year's report includes the greenhouse gas emissions for 64 organisations in 2013, as well as a breakdown of emissions by source. The brochure and poster highlight some of the many projects going on in UN agencies and offices around the UN to improve the organization's environmental performance, often with resulting co-benefits for health, morale and cost savings.

The most recent analysis of the UN's performance in implementing the UN's Climate Neutral Strategy. The report includes the details of the greenhouse gas emissions for 64 organisations in 2012, as well as a breakdown of emissions by source. The brochure and poster showcase some of the efforts that have gone on around the UN System to reduce emissions and explains the next steps. There is an opening message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. This report is the first and last word in the UN's sustainability performance to date.

This is the fourth edition of Moving Towards a Climate Neutral UN - the annual progress report on the UN's journey towards climate neutrality. This publication details the UN's greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 and some of the activities undertaken in 2012 to reduce them.

In a change from previous editions, which have taken the form of a 40-page report, the 2012 edition aims to reach a wider audience by presenting the key messages in a short brochure and an eye catching poster.

The most recent analysis of the UN's performance in implementing the UN's Climate Neutral Strategy. The report includes the details of the greenhouse gas emissions for 54 entities in 2010, as well as a breakdown of emissions by activity. It also details progress in reducing emissions and plans for the future. The a Foreword by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and a Preface by the UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, this report is the first and last word in the UN's sustainability performance to date.

The second edition of the UN's performance in implementing the UN's Climate Neutral Strategy. The report includes the details of the greenhouse gas emissions for 52 organizations in 2009, as well as a breakdown of emissions by activity. It also details progress in reducing emissions and plans for the future. The a Foreword by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and a Preface by the UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, this report is the first and last word in the UN's sustainability performance to date.

This publication provides the first ever insight into the greenhouse gas inventory for the UN system. It contains data of the greenhouse gas emissions of all UN agencies, as well as an overview of the initial steps taken to reduce emissions. The publication provides the UN system with a baseline to track emission reduction efforts in future years. Attention is given to the importance of green travel and energy efficient buildings, reflecting the fact that the UN has more than 530 duty stations all of which have the potential to deliver emissions cuts. Overall, the publication gives evidence to the strong response to the Secretary-General’s call to make the UN more climate-friendly and environmentally sustainable.

Other Publications

A Vision of a Sustainable UN (2012)

A Vision of a Sustainable UN is a 34-page document that presents a vision of what a sustainable United Nations might look like in 2020. It provides a picture of the future that is intended to stimulate discussion and unify the UN towards a common goal for in-house sustainability.

This report is designed to open a debate and give voice to conversations that are already underway in respect to how best to adapt and accelerate a transition towards a sustainable UN.

Sustainable United Nations: Helping the UN system become sustainable (2011)

The Sustainable United Nations (SUN) team - hosted by UNEP in Paris - oversees and coordinates the UN's efforts to become more sustainable. This brochure provides an overview of SUN's work and achievements.

This guide provides an overview of the various approaches to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases across different areas of work and between different UN organizations. Not only does the guide offer a generic model on how to approach emissions reductions, it also provides an introduction to basic concepts, reduction options (e.g. finding alternatives to air travel, as it is found that in most UN organizations air travel generates the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions) and advice on how to get started. The guide is of particular reference to UN staff and policy makers looking for an introduction to emissions reductions.

An overview of the UN system’s efforts to address climate change. The website contains scientific information, information on the 2010 Copenhagen meeting, news articles, publications and much more.Sustainable United Nations

The SUN facility works with all UN agencies to improve the sustainability performance of the UN system, and provides support to public sector organizations embarking on their own sustainability journeys.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), defined in Article 12 of the Protocol, allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries. Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets.

Emissions trading, as set out in Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows countries that have emission units to spare - emissions permitted them but not "used" - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets. Thus, a new commodity was created in the form of emission reductions or removals. Carbon is now tracked and traded like any other commodity. This is known as the "carbon market."

The Centre for Corporate Climate Leaders is an EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies. Participating companies complete a corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions and annually report their progress to EPA.

Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is a consultative, participatory, capacity building process for global environmental assessment and reporting on the state of the environment, trends and future outlooks. GEO is both a process involving stakeholders from across the globe, as well as a product for environmental decision-making. It aims to facilitate the interaction between science and policy.

The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the climate change process, particularly the COP, the subsidiary bodies and their Bureau. The website contains resources for beginners or experts, such as introductory and in-depth publications, the official UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol texts and a search engine to the UNFCCC library.

The GHG protocol is the most widely used international accounting tool when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. A result of the partnership between the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development – the protocol works to create a new generation of credible and effective programs for tracking climate change.